Sponsors (3)
Official title: Approve the settlement of the water rights claims of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, and for other purposes.
Introduced April 22, 2026 by Alejandro Padilla · Last progress April 22, 2026
The bill secures a quantified tribal water right, land‑into‑trust, and substantial federal funding that materially advance Agua Caliente self‑determination and regional water infrastructure, in exchange for broad waivers of claims, new tribal taxing and regulatory regimes, significant federal spending, and tradeoffs in local control and certain environmental/public‑land protections.
Agua Caliente Tribe and its Allottees receive a quantified, federally backed Tribal Water Right (20,000 AFY) with a senior priority date and protections against forfeiture, securing long‑term water supply and legal certainty for tribal uses.
Tribal community gains substantial federal funding and a managed settlement trust (including immediate access funds and a $500M appropriations package) to build and sustain water infrastructure, groundwater augmentation, and related projects.
The Act implements a final settlement that ends long‑running disputes, reducing litigation risk and providing legal certainty for the Tribe, Allottees, local water districts, and other parties to plan and operate without prolonged court challenges.
Agua Caliente tribal members and Allottees give up broad categories of past, present, and future claims (including some water and pore‑space claims), which may forfeit remedies or potential compensation if future circumstances make those claims more valuable.
Federal taxpayers face a substantial upfront cost (about $500M) plus indexed adjustments and Secretary discretion to repricing, increasing federal outlays and creating potential budget unpredictability.
State and local water regulators, districts, and Riverside County may lose some regulatory and fiscal control because the Act preempts certain state/local regimes, creates Tribal taxing authority over possessory interests, and clarifies federal/trust jurisdiction, complicating regional water planning and local government revenues.
Based on analysis of 14 sections of legislative text.
Settles and quantifies Agua Caliente water rights (up to 20,000 AFY), transfers/sells specified federal lands, creates a settlement trust with federal funding, and allows a Tribal Tax on possessory interests with passthroughs to local governments.
Creates a negotiated, comprehensive settlement of Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians water rights and related claims by recognizing a quantified Tribal Water Right (up to 20,000 AFY), taking specified federal BLM parcels into trust for the Tribe, authorizing sale of certain federal land to the Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD), and establishing a federally managed settlement trust funded by mandatory Treasury transfers to implement water projects, augmentation, and management. The Act also permits the Tribe to impose a Tribal Tax on possessory interests in lieu of Riverside County property tax (with protections and passthroughs for local governments), requires mutual waivers and releases of many water-related claims, and sets an enforceability framework contingent on execution of an amended Agreement, court decree, and full funding.